Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Top SA cop to help extradite dewani...

A senior South African investigator, Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Barkhuizen,pictured on the left,, is to fly to London to meet Scotland Yard detectives preparing the case for Shrien Dewani's extradition, amid claims by members of her family that he allowed his bride Anni to “suffer a worse death than a dog”.

Dewani faces allegations that he orchestrated Anni's murder in a staged hijacking in Khayelitsha, Cape Town in

November.

But British publicist and spokesman for the Dewani family, Max Clifford, said: “Unless you are ever in a situation when two men are pointing a gun at you, you will never know how you will respond.

“Anni’s uncle is entitled to his opinion, but I know that Shrien did everything he could protect her. We released the footage of the wedding as a tribute to Anni and to demonstrate how much Shrien loved her, following weeks of false claims about their relationship.”

Zola Tongo, the driver of the taxi, said he was paid R1500 for his role in the murder. He was sentenced to 18 years in jail after he turned State witness and implicated Shrien Dewani in plotting to kill his wife.

Dewani, who returned to Britain with his wife's body days after the killing, was later arrested after walking into a police station in Bristol in southwest England. He was released on bail pending an extradition hearing. He has denied any involvement in his wife's death. - Sapa